Starflyer59.

the combination of where/when/how was unreal.

I can't believe Pantera has only been mentioned once. I've seen them 9 times since '94 and they are far and away the best live show I've ever seen. The biggest surprise good show that I've seen, believe it or not, was Methods of Mayhem. Saw them at Ozzfest a few years ago and they totally blew me away.

best live shows ive see would have to be:
NIN
Radiohead (seen them twice at red rocks)
Metallica, even though there new music sucks, i saw them last year and they only played old school stuff, 2 hours of music and I counted maybe three songs from any album newer then load.
and of corse my fav
Tool, seen them 5 times and they never to ceese amaze
also ive seen static x maybe 8 times and they always put on a good show

I was at the first Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester Tennessee. Widespread Panic, The Dead (well at the time it was Phil Leash and Bob Weir), Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Trey, Galactic, Moe, Les Claypool.

It was amazing! I'm not what you would call a "Hippy" but I really enjoy the jam bands. Not allot of people now a days make real music. I don’t think I have ever been offered so many drugs in my life though. The group I was with settled on some nice shrooms which were freaking amazing. I think I lost my mind a couple of times that weekend ;-).

One of the greatest experiences of my life. If you like music, like a laid back atmosphere, and can get away for a weekend in June, I recommend you check it out.

http://www.bonnaroo.com

Best chill-out and smoke-out show: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, April 1995. ($20)

Best intense, kick your neighbor in the head and bleed from your nose show: Rage Against the Machine, Oct. 1996. ($13)

Best ears bleeding and a nursing a headache the next day show: Dick Dale, Every winter ($15)

Concerts don't really seem to do it for me, anymore. Perhaps it's the price or maybe the quality of music just isn't there. Last show I went to was the Reverend Horton Heat and that was almost a year ago. ($25) Before that was the Strokes who showed up late and drunk and only played 45 minutes. :mad:

I don't care that much for Springsteen's albums, on which he sounds kinda bored. But man oh man in concert he's a freaking maniac. 3 hours plus, nonstop, and all his songs are energentic and anthemic.

Pretty Girls Make Graves are really very impressive live.

So are The Tossers, a Chicago based Celtic punk group.

The best I've seen live, though, is Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, who just kicks unbelievable ass. Live, Leo bounces around and plays as hard as he can. My right ear didn't stop ringing until the next morning. And let me tell you, I go to a small school where most students (including me) are the shoe-gazing type, but everyone was completely losing their shit when he played.

Recently, The Pixies in Philadelphia over the weekend. one of the few bands that would could possibly make being in the company of 5000 pretentious insecure teenagers worthwhile (where the hell did they come from anyway - they haven't played in like 10 years). Even the guy behind me yelling every word to every song in my fucking ear didn't ruin my good time.

I like smaller shows better, any good ska band, but my absolute fav live band is Eastern Standard Time.

Incubus. They came and played a show at my school (NIU) on November 12th this year and it was awesome. I can't believe I got to see them by walking 15 minutes out of my room. It was the third time I've seen them live and probably my favorite time. I saw them in 2002 at UofI, this past july at Allstate Arena (Chicago) and then November 12th at NIU. The live show keeps getting better and more energetic. The new DVD Alive at Red Rocks shows off what they're made of.

I gotta say the best show I've seen was Prince on the Musicology tour. No pyrotechnics, no lasers, no cheap effects. Just a great band and a kick ass performer! Excellent show! 2nd would be Peter Gabriel or having a great stage show. The Chili Peppers were good, but they played such a short show I have to knock some points off.

I went to a pretty rockin' concert last night. It was one of those big shows put on by Seattle's alternative station. Saw Snow Patrol, Keane, the Shins, the Killers and Franz Ferdinand...left before Modest Mouse went on. I couldn't stand the idea of teeny bopper girls screaming for Modest Mouse...it seems so incongruous. Blah. The show was great, especially Keane. I highly recommend them live. Franz Ferdinand also knows how to rock. Damn. With the exception of having to put up with too many too-cool-for-school teeny boppers running riot around Key Arena, it was fun.

Seeing the Vienna Philharmonic play the New World Symphony was trancended.

However, Rammstein puts on a god damn show too.

Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and The Smashing Pumpkins.

i'm a decemberists fan. been to about 5 of their shows, as they are just as entertaining with each visit.

deerhoof puts on an amazing live performance.

if you want a good dancing experience, try to check out franz ferdinand live. the crowd feeds off their energy.

weezer is pretty cool live. feel like snuggling... memorize a couple dashboard songs and have a ball.

the d (tenacious d) is the king of rock and roll. you simply must go to see them next time they tour or be banished from the land.

oh yeah, ima robot.

derek was there too. i agree whole heartedly about the teeny bopper thing. hopefully they'll grow out of it.

did i mention stephen lynch? that man has balls to perform some of those topics live. he also hits the high notes like he has no balls. very funny.

Slayer last sunday, (December 12th) at the Roseland. Best fucking show ever. I saw a lady get punched in the baby.

This was a while ago, but The Ataris at the Fireside Bowl in Chicago. It is a little bowling alley with the tiny stage.

Me and a buddy got to get up on stage and sing San Dimas High School Football Rules with Kris Roe. Awesome.

Small venues rule.

I just saw Social Distortion last night.


It was like meeting God.

acid mothers temple

Bob Dylan
Simon and Garfunkel Reunion Tour
Joe Satriani - G3 Concert w/Steve Petrucci
Joe Satriani - Engines of Creation Tour
Drivin N Cryin'
Jack Johnson
... damnt a couple more I cant think of at the moment

Tool in 2001.
Opeth in San Diego 2003. Got there so early I had lunch with them before the show. Beat that! :D

--jaded

Underworld at Clutch Cargo's in Pontiac, MI October 2002. Hearing (and singing to) Born Slippy in the company of about 400 others was just amazing. And the laser effect that pierced the air in the middle of Twist had me creaming my pants.

Radiohead at The Skydome in Toronto, ON October 2003 (supposed to be August 2003, but The Power Outage happened). Kid Koala opened up for them, and I swear to God he is the best scratch artist out there. Pick up anything he's released! Radiohead opened up with The Gloaming and There There and blew me away. The concert was only an hour and a half, but well worth the $150 pair of tickets and 3.5 hour drive (each way) to see them.

AC/DC, The Palace of Auburn Hills, August 3rd, 2000. Stiff Upper Lip tour. A statue of Angus, complete with fire, smoke and lights.. a huge bell, all the classic songs.. and even some gunfire (someone was shot at after the concert out in the parking lot).

Metallica. Finally got to see them at the Summer Sanitarium Tour and they were awesome! I could even listen to their stuff off of St. Anger because they are such a great live band. I recommend seeing them live as much as possible.

I saw Primus in Charlotte last year during the "Animals Should Not Act Like Humans" tour, and it was amazing. I've never seen a band or an audience get so caught up in the music, and watching Les Claypool play the slap base was an experience in it's own category. This was the only show I've ever seen that made me want to be a roadie.

Hrmm, have to say Pantera, with tool a close 2nd. As far as local bands, blindspott would have to be my pic, despite the fact that im sure 99% of tfp users will never have heard of them :)

O.A.R. puts on the most amazing live show I have ever seen.

Saw the Prodigy at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Ga in about 98, i think the whole place was in the same frame of mind... rolling on X and it was like a religious experience. The music was totally awesome and the crowd was connected to the band. We were all dancing and feeling the vibes... I think back to that concert and get cold chills to this day. Ahhhh the good old days.

I just got back from the "Benefit: Dimebag Darrell with Disturbed, Anthrax, Drowning Pool, Soil" and it was awesome. To be honest, I only really cared about seeing Anthrax, I don't care much for the other bands. That said, Soil was really good and played an incredible version of Damageplan's "Save Me." The two best songs of the night belonged to Anthrax. First, they opened their set with Pantera's "Fucking Hostile." They finished their set by bringing out Vinnie Paul to play drums on an old Pantera song (I'm too tired right now to remember the name of it) along with the guys from Soil, and I think I spotted the rest of Damageplan on stage as well. It wasn't easy to tell because I was a bit away, and there were tons of people running around on stage during that song.

Jam band shows always have such a fantastic atmosphere, especially when they're outdoors. Everyone's happy and laid-back, friends with the world. It is enough to make me believe in "good vibes".

The best show I ever saw was the Dead at Shoreline - sunny afternoon/evening, beautiful people, fantastic music. I know why people follow them.

Bingle

metallica and godsmack-may 9

Britney Spears at the Avalon. nuff said

I can't believe I haven't posted here yet.

My favorite is definitely Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds in late 2003, I think it was about November. It was just after the Nocturama release.

The concert was at the Music Bowl in Melbourne, we had a rug and a picnic on the side of the hill looking down onto the stage and since it was summer it was stinking hot. We got there around 4pm and the concert started around 9pm. Words can't even begin to describe the radical-ness of this concert, there were all my favorite songs, new ones and old ones, an awesome crowd, and they did a heavier version of Wonderful Life that it is on the album, and it blew my mind, and I've never heard a cooler song since.

I just got back from the House of Blues where the original Anthrax lineup just played, and it was awesome. I've almost lost my voice from yelling. It was all older Anthrax songs, and it was great. I still prefer John Bush as the front man, but this was still one hell of a show.

Now I know, it was "A New Level."

Ozzfest 04 was my best experience so far, looking
forward to 05 because of "In Flames"

NIN Fragility Tour '00. Every time I turned around there was a joint in my face.

I just saw Audio Adrenaline for the second time at a festival and have to say that they have one of the best shows ever, period. Incredible music and absolutely stunning visuals. Loads of fun.

Also saw a band called Seventh Day Slumber. I urge you to give them a listen and go see them. They are extremely passionate about what they do.

The Marc Atkinson Trio-The man did the best solo of my life, and played percussion on guitar, with slap style, harmonics and regular hand drumming style, fuckin awsome

Two come to mind

The Grateful Dead/Bob Dylan in the early 90s, when I lived in Minneapolis. Started out on upper levels -- sound sucked, etc. Slowly sneaked downstairs -- caught by security at the last gate, but deadheads grabbed the security guys and let a few slobs like me on to the floor in front -- had a WILD time.

Another Dylan concert ten yearls later -- he was actually pretty coherent -- smaller venue -- and the rich dudes behind us kept buying beer and food for everybody in their area. Great communal, happy concert with peaceful folks.

Best overall show: Rolling Stones, Dallas 1989

Best overall musical performance: Little Feat, Tulsa, 1990

Biggest surprise: Dr. Hook, 1978, Russellville, Arkansas (a free concert at college, it was great!)

Best opening act: Bob Seger, Little Rock, 1976 (opening for the Doobie Brothers, Seger was better in his 30 minutes than were the Doobies in their whole show).

Honorable mention: Paul McCartney, Kansas City 1993, in which there was a great show and great music, it's just shaded a little on each element by the Stones and Little Feat.

There has been a few that I'll never forget.

Metallica - First concert ever
Tool - Probably my fav out of the lot
Rammstein - Excellent stage show.